My floor jack let go on a buddy's F-250 last week

I was under a 2015 F-250 Super Duty on stands, but the jack was still supporting the axle a little. It let go with a loud bang and the whole truck dropped about an inch before the stands caught it. Has anyone else had a jack fail on them like this and what brand did you switch to?

3 comments

3 Comments

caleb_stone13d ago

That's a scary moment for sure, and it happens more often than people think. If the jack was still touching the axle it can put sideways pressure on the stands and cause them to shift, so you got lucky the truck didn't tip. Most failures come from worn out seals or a cracked casting near the cylinder, not always the brand itself. Switch to something with a wider base and a steel body instead of aluminum if you want it to last. Also, get a set of stands with a higher weight rating than you think you need, that extra margin has saved me before.

terry_lewis2113d ago

Idk @caleb_stone, I've used a cheap aluminum jack for like 8 years and never had a problem. Maybe it's just me but people act like your truck's gonna explode if the jack ain't top of the line. I mean, how many of those failures are actually from user error versus bad jacks?

verar2113d ago

Fair enough but I gotta disagree a little here. A cheap aluminum jack from 8 years ago probably wasn't built the same way they are now, lots of those older ones were actually decent. The new budget ones have thinner metal and worse castings, I've seen two crack right at the base where the cylinder meets the frame. User error is definitely a thing, people jack on uneven ground or put the stand in a dumb spot, but there's a reason some brands are known for failures and others aren't. You can get a solid steel one for around $80 that'll last you 15 years easy, that's not exactly breaking the bank compared to risking a truck falling on you.